Chasing a Dream
by Ikuinen Talvi
Summary: Brady and Collin have always been best friends. But when Brady imprinted on Collin, they started to drift apart, following various odd encounters until they stop speaking altogether. When Brady's friend takes him to a backstage Weeping Angels concert, Collin's band, they start talking, and Collin begins to realize that maybe what he needs is a bit of love. Rated M, Collin/Brady.
1. Beginnings

A/N: So I really wanted to do something like this, and I wanted to use a less popular couple. Brady and Collin. I hope you enjoy, and definitely feel free to leave reviews and helpful feedback :) Also, this is set for about five or six years after Breaking Dawn.

XXX

**Brady**

"Hey!" Collin called out, running towards me through the rain. It was the last day of high school. How early, and far too soon, I kept thinking to myself. And I was worried too. Collin and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember. He was there the night that I phased for the first time, and helped me to understand what was happening. But here lately, we'd been growing apart. We were both music majors, but while I was far more interested in the classical side of things, he was a rocker. He reached me through the pouring rain, panting slightly at the effort he'd made. La Push was always wet. We rarely got any sun. But we were used to it.

"Hey," He said again, pushing his damp black hair out of his eyes.

"Hi," I answered, watching him carefully. He was recovering from the night before - his eighteenth birthday party. The rest of his family had gone out and he threw himself a party. I came over long enough to wish him a happy birthday and then cleared out of there. The rumors were he'd gotten wasted. Looked like the rumors were true. His uniform was wrinkled and slightly ruffled, his shirt not tucked in, and his blazer had a big dark stain on it. So much for looking nice. Between the two of us, he often relied on me to help keep everything on track.

"You wouldn't happen to..." He started, and I held up a bag, which contained my backup uniform. I had one for each day, and three back ups. On a good week, I never used them. On a rough week, I had to go and fish them out of the dirty clothes on the floor of Collin's room. "Thanks." He said, taking the bag from me. He clapped me on the back before disappearing into the school. I sighed heavily, making my way to English.

Mrs. Banner, one of the only decent teachers at the school, had assigned us one final book for the year - Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. I'd loved it, but every last one of the students except for myself complained upon receiving it. I never was able to understand their aversion to good literature. Speaking of students with aversions to good literature, I just happened to bump into Seth Clearwater, our other best friend. Between the three of us, the teachers hated it when we were together.

"Hey Braid," he said, using my nickname. When we were younger, I'd kept my hair tied up in a braid to keep it out of my eyes, and my name was already Brady, so I got landed with Braid.

"Hi Seth. Were you at the party last night?" I asked, and he grinned largely.

"Totally man. Collin got wasted. Looked like hell too. Wound up in bed with Leah at some point," He said, shaking his head. I nearly gagged. Leah was Seth's older sister by like, four years. And she hated us. Well, at least it seemed like she did. It probably didn't help that she was the only girl in the pack either.

"Leah? What the hell?" I asked, and he just shrugged. We'd all seen her naked before because of the mind link, and well, when you're a wolf for the first time, you can't control when you burst into fur and claws. Plus your clothes get ripped to shreds. I guessed that the only good thing about it was that there hadn't been any vampires around here in a long time, and we hadn't had a reason to phase. Because of that, we'd started aging normally again. I had a moment of flashbacks from the big conflict. Faces swam before me, some friendly with golden eyes, others hostile and wild with crimson. Jacob had taken off with the Cullen's so that he could stay around Renesmee, and I couldn't exactly blame him. I knew what it was like, having an imprint.

The bell rang just as Seth and I took our seats. Mrs. Banner hadn't arrived yet, and Collin just barely made it into the room before the bell cut itself off. He winked at us before taking his normal seat in front of me.

"Where's your uniform?" I asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. He grinned at pointed out the window. I looked out and found myself shaking my head at the sight. He'd put it on the flag pole. Right beneath the American Flag.

"You're so dead," I muttered. He laughed and my stomach did a tiny flip. My imprint. He was a beautiful person, he truly was. I just hated that he didn't feel the same way about me. It hurt a lot, but I'd learned to suppress the emotions for the most part. It got really hard sometimes, and I think that he hated that he was hurting me the way that he was. I wasn't his imprint, he was mine. He didn't have one. But he couldn't stand the thought of having me be his eternal companion. We were like brothers to him.

"Not if I don't get caught," He replied, grinning again. And that was when Mrs. Banner came in, along with Ms. Young, the assistant principal.

"Told you," I whispered, receiving a deadly glare, to which I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Alright. Who was it?" Ms. Young said, her hands on her hips. She was a tiny little thing with bleach blond hair. But she had the voice of a gladiator, and to be quite honest, she was scary.

"Me," Collin said, almost immediately.

"Detention, Mr. Littlesea," She said.

"But Ms. Young! It's the last day of school!" Seth protested, and I sighed. This always happened.

"Detention for you too, Mr. Clearwater," She said, rolling her eyes. "I don't care if you're seniors. You still have to follow school rules. And Mr. Fuller?"

"Yes?" I asked, knowing what was next.

"See that your friends make it home okay," She said, smiling ruefully.

"Yes ma'am," I answered.

And with that, Ms. Young whisked off down the hallway, leaving Mrs. Banner to her class. She pushed some iron gray hair behind an ear, and lifted a stack of papers, which received a groan.

"Test time," She grinned.

**Collin**

The book was awful. The test was awful. The class itself had been awful all semester. I did have to give Mrs. Banner her props though - the woman was passionate.

I groaned as I glanced up at the clock - still three o'clock. And it didn't let out till 3:15. Not to mention the hour of detention. Everyone else thought the dirty uniform was a great joke - well, minus Brady, but he was always a spoil-sport here lately. It was really the wolf's fault. Brady didn't ask for the imprint thing to happen. It just kind of did.

When I first phased, it was out of irritation that I couldn't speak to him about any of it. I'd already phased and so had Seth - we just waited on Brady, knowing he would be next. He eventually just got so mad that everything took place very very fast. He hit the wolf earlier than any of us. And we were there. It was kind of that having to try and calm him down time. Once we got everything explained, he took a while to phase back, which is always the way that it works your first time. I walked out from the trees to bring him a change of clothes, and when he caught my eye, it happened - literally, with neither of us able to control anything. Brady imprinted on me.

The ending result didn't turn out very well. When you have an imprint, you are drawn to them, you'd do anything to keep them safe. And it was no different for Brady. But I wasn't gay, and there was no way in hell I was going to try. I know I was hurting him, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't. So we started to grow further and further apart. Until really we only spoke at school and every once and a while outside. He was my best friend. But this was pushing us away from each other. I hated to think about what it was going to be like when we graduated. Something told me that we wouldn't be on speaking terms any longer.

The bell finally rang out, and I grabbed all of my stuff, heading towards Mr. Hawk's room, the man who taught geometry, and just happened to have detention duty today. Good thing to - it wasn't really a detention with him, you did whatever you wanted. I pushed my way through the mounds of people trying to get out and into the sun for Summer time. I finally made it to the room and threw my crap down onto a desk, slamming into it.

"Mr. Littlesea," Mr. Hawk said.

"Hawk," I answered. Then Seth showed up, taking a seat beside me, closely followed by Brady, who already had a fucking book in his hand.

"The hell, Braid?" I asked, and he smiled, rolling his eyes. The cover said something like "The Awakening" or something like that. So we actually started talking. And it felt like old times. Until Seth asked about college.

"I'm not going," I said seriously, and they glanced at each other and then at me. "What?" I griped.

"Collin, do you really think that's a good decision?" Brady asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"The Weeping Angels have finally made their break, and there's no way I'm putting it on hold for more school," I answered. "What about you then, Mr. Responsible?"

"I'm going to major in performance and become a director maybe, or teach," Brady said, leveling a gaze at me.

"And I think I'm just going to go to law school like my dad," Seth said, but I was barely paying attention. I'd seen this gaze from Brady before. It was the sad one, the one that made me feel like shit for what I've done and I'm still doing.

"I'm out of here," I said suddenly, standing up and making for the door. I had to get out of there. God only knows what might have happened if I'd stayed.

I made it to my car, this little black Mustang GT, and threw my stuff into the passenger side. I revved the engine and tore out of there like a bat from hell. I locked my gaze on the road, bypassed my place, and made it to the base - the place where my band and I practiced. I threw open the door to the little garage, and flung myself onto the couch, putting my head in my hands. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. It was killing me to hurt Brady like this. But I just couldn't accept fate. This was my life, and I wasn't going to just let some bond get in my way.

About an hour later, I heard tires crunching on the gravel outside, and I jumped up, making myself look normal. A few seconds passed, accompanied by slamming doors and laughter, and the rest of my band entered the base. Jade, our keyboardist, was carrying some kind of paper work, a look of determination on her face. She was very tiny to be honest, only came up to my chest, but she had the longest hair I'd ever seen, it went down past her ass. And on top of that, the chick could _really_ play the keys.

"What's up?" I asked, nodding at the work. She grinned, tossing me a pen and handing me the stack.

"Get to signing, Mr. Rockstar. That's a contract,"

"No shit!" I exclaimed, and the rest of them had been eyes too. Garret, our guitarist, looked dumbfounded. He pushed back some of his blond hair behind his ear, exposing a wire-thin scar that ran down his temple to his chin, and kept going down his neck. No one knew how he got it, and we hadn't bothered to ask.

"This is what you've been doing every time you cancel practice?" He asked, and Jade nodded, smiling.

"Well, I guess she finally got _something_ right," John, our bassist said. He was one of those big, buff guys that you wouldn't think could do much, but the man had a killer musical talent.

"Oh shut up," Ariana. Said. Ariana was our drummer, and both she and Jade were dating - yep. Musical lesbians in a rock band.

I got to signing while they tuned up everything, and I did some small vocal warm ups. After I got everything finished, I took my place behind my mic, and practice began.


	2. Lonely

A/N: Thanks for reviewing, one follower! :D I hope that you found everything interesting enough to stick up with it. I know this one is a bit shorter than most would prefer, but hey, at least I got it up :P Enjoy the ride.

XXX

**Brady**

How quickly Collin left didn't surprise me, although it did kind of hurt. I guessed that it just came with having the imprint status. Seth tried to cheer me up by asking if I would come over and hang out for a while, but I declined, explaining that I had some stuff to do.

Not.

I actually had nothing to do. Every summer, I would be around Collin and Seth, even though with the last few years since the imprinting happened, it had really just been Seth and I, with Collin joining every once in a while. I'd attempted to move on - I'd been able to find myself a boyfriend, a guy named Tommy Rain from down the street. Tommy was a really sweet guy. I'd grown to really, really like him; there was only one problem. The thing about imprinting is it doesn't matter what you do - fate has bound you to one particular person. Of course, Tommy had no idea that I'd imprinted. Or about the wolf. But I'd hoped that with good timing, the wolf would become a thing of my past.

I found myself walking in my door before I even realized that I'd driven here. Everything was just... a big blur. It was always like this. It was depressing. I caught sight of my dad passed out on the couch, and heard my mom on the phone in the kitchen. Judging by my dad's looks, it was clear he'd been out partying all night long. It was a story that I really did NOT want to hear.

I poked my head into the kitchen, waving to mom, who mouthed the names 'Sue' and 'Billy' to me. I grinned and winked at her before leaving the kitchen for the stairs. Our house was small. There was a living room, a kitchen, one room downstairs for my parents, my room upstairs, and a singular bathroom just under the staircase. I made it to my room, throwing my bag on the floor for the last time and collapsing onto the mattress. It was strange, I thought. Most of the pack had assumed that at this point, we'd still be needed to protect the reservation, that we wouldn't need to have worried about colleges. But when the Cullen's and Jacob hauled out of the area about four years ago, everything seemed to come to a screeching halt. We had an enormous surplus of pups to deal with, plus Seth and Leah had gone AWOL, joining Jacob's pack before he actually ordered them to come back to us after the conflict came to an end.

It didn't take long for Sam to realize what was going on. He ordered us to start worrying about school, and told us that if we were needed, he would call. But things didn't seem so optimistic. Actually, the perspectives were rather bleak. I truly wasn't looking to go to college...

I must have drifted off to sleep, because I suddenly found myself submerged in darkness. I looked to the alarm clock on my nightstand for guidance, and found that it was 8:15. Great. I'd slept for four hours. Wonderful. Completely magnificent. I looked at my phone, finding three missed calls from Tommy and one from Seth, plus two voicemails.

"Hey Braid, just calling to see if you were busy tomorrow..." Started Seth's voice, and I deleted it almost immediately. Not that I didn't love Seth, he was just often over-eager.

"Brady, I guess you're asleep. Just call me when you get the message. Love you," I heard Tommy say. I sighed deeply, depressed. I didn't know what to do about that, but I guessed that I couldn't just leave him hanging. I dialed his number and waited for the tone. It rang one time when he answered.

"About time," He grouched, and I rolled my eyes, though I knew he couldn't see them. He was in one of his moods. Just perfect.

"Sorry, I fell asleep. You know, last day of school and whatnot," I bubbled. That was one thing I was good at most of the time - keeping everyone out of knowledge and in the dark. If they knew how you felt, then you were in for a guaranteed interrogation. Not a chance in hell.

"Sure sure. So, you busy tomorrow?" He asked, and I could tell from his voice that he was ready. He'd been ready since I met him. And being the good little wolf that I am, I'd kept him at bay, telling him not yet. That I wasn't ready. And it was true, I wasn't ready. And to be perfectly honest, I probably never would be.

"I don't _think_ so. Why, what's up?" I asked.

"Movie date," He smirked. I just knew that he was - his tone was so obvious, and it didn't help that he was so singularly faceted when it came to his personality. I didn't know why I agreed to go out with him in the first place. He could be an extreme jerk.

"What are we seeing?" I asked, my voice indifferent. He always picked dumb romantic comedies or extreme terror or bloodshed movies.

"I dunno, thought I'd let you choose this time," He said. Wow, I wonder what had happened. Or if he was just trying to butter me up to get in my pants.

"Alright Tom. Pick me up around six, and for the love of God, TRY to clean yourself up for once," I grinned.

"Six it is. And no promises. Love ya," He said before hanging up the phone. Ugh. Great. I groaned as I fell back onto the bed, almost hating myself.

There was absolutely NO way I was doing anything aside from seeing the movie with him tomorrow. I might even not hold his hand or kiss him. He would hate that and we'd probably start fighting again. And then I'd probably get hit, and then after a few seconds he'd realize what an absolute jerk he was and try to apologize. Ugh. Why did I choose this path?

Oh right. Fate chose it. Dammit.

There was a light knock on the door and my mom's head appeared in the doorway, smiling hesitantly at me.

"Hey sweetie. How was your final day of school?" She asked.

"Terrible. Collin got detention with Seth again, and I had to make sure they 'got home okay' from Ms. Young," I said rolling my eyes. My mom was the only one in the family that understood everything. She understood my being gay, and understood the struggle from the imprint rejection.

"Do you think you'll do anything with them this coming summer?" My mom asked, genuinely interested.

"I... don't think so mom. I think that Collin is moving on..." I said, and the painful reality of it all hit me like a punch to the gut. Suddenly, I was doubled over, holding my stomach. It was hard to breathe, and I felt my eyes stinging from fresh tears. My mom's cooling hands were on my neck and face in a moment, and I cried like a baby for a few minutes.

**Collin**

The jamming session went great that night. We'd written a new song to go along with the other seven we had, and according to the paperwork, we only needed one more, which could be either an intro song, an outro, or just another full-length. When we'd finished, I wrote out the lyrics we'd come up with, singing them again in my head.

"Good job tonight," I said to everyone before climbing in my car. My band smiled at me, waving enthusiastically. I often forgot how much like a family they felt to me. As I was driving, I noticed that it was 11:11 on my dashboard. There was one significant thing about 11:11 the day after my birthday - it was the day that Brady phased and the time that he imprinted on me.

Now, I pulled to the shoulder, flipped on my hazards, and laid back against the seat, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose to suppress the coming headache. This would be the last time I wasted a dark night worrying about Brady, I thought to myself. I wouldn't be able to be his friend anymore. I couldn't do it. His pull to me was so strong, the last thing I wanted to do was make it worse by rejecting him every single day.

"Ugh," I groaned as a flashing pair of blue lights appeared in my mirrors right behind me. I waited calmly for the officer to make it to my windows before I rolled it down. "Is there a problem, officer?" I asked innocently.

"Just saw you on the shoulder with your hazards on. Needed to see if you were okay," Said Forks police chief Charlie Swan. He looked a lot older than I'd ever seen him, all kind of... gray. He looked sick. Like... death.

"Yes sir, Chief Swan," I answered, and then he realized who I was.

"Collin Littlesea. What're you doing way out here at this time of night?" Charlie asked.

"We were having band practice. And this is an... important time today at this time," I answered, noticing the time on the clock had changed by five minutes since I had pulled off. Shit. I'd just told myself to stop worrying and yet here I was, still dwelling on him.

"Alright son, just get home safe," He told me, and I nodded.

I cranked my car and started heading down the road, blasting Shinedown. When I made it home, I collapsed on my bed, effectively ignoring my parents, who seemed to be having sex across the hall. For someone that was trying to forget his best friend, I wasn't doing a very good job of it.

The truth was, I actually really, really missed him. That was the problem. We couldn't be normal around each other anymore. It was always prevented by the stupid imprint. Everyone like Seth told me that I had to learn to accept it. Hell, even Jacob tried to explain to me the affects of the imprinting process, like how you feel that your entire world revolves around the person that fate has bound you to.

I didn't want that. I didn't want a devoted... _lover_. I wanted my best friend back. When he first phased, before he caught sight of me, I thought that everything would go back to normal, that we could be best friends again. I had ignored him for so long on Sam's orders that I was going a bit crazy, and the others could vouch for that. They tried to convince Sam to let me talk to him, but he'd held strong, insisting that Brady would join us soon enough. And he was right. But NO one saw the imprint coming. No one even expected that Brady was gay.

I guess that looking back on it now, I could say that I could see a very small amount of evidence pointing to it. He was never into sports or rough housing like Seth and I, and he was always so much quieter, offering small bits of advice. He was like my medium. I needed him, but I didn't need him this way.

My eyes were stinging suddenly, and I found myself crying.

"Grow up you fucker," I whispered to myself. "Grow a pair."

That night had proved to be the longest night I'd had in a very long time.


	3. Omens and Trouble

A/N: Reviews inspire fast writing! Thanks to those of you who have been following: Mizz-Sunshine and Hank's Lady. It means a lot :D Warning: This chapter is going to seem a bit harsh, particularly where the whole Brady/Tommy thing is concerned. Also, please note that the description of the story has changed.

XXX

**Brady**

It was the night of the movie. Tom arrived at 6:15, fashionably late as usual. He knocked on the door, greeted by my father, who merely grunted in recognition, before moving back into the living room. I came downstairs, finding that he looked quite a bit nicer than I'd thought he would. A nice pair of blue jeans, a black tucked in shirt, sleeves rolled up, and the first two buttons at the top undone. He'd actually attempted to manage the birds' nest that was his hair. He blushed for a moment when he caught sight of me, and it took me a few seconds to realize that we were pretty much dressed the same, except I was wearing a white shirt.

"You ready?" He asked, his voice deeper in person than over the phone. Although it might have been because he was trying to impress my dad, which he did on a regular basis.

"Yep," I said, smiling lightly. I followed him out, nodding to my dad and mom, who looked mildly disinterested and concerned at the same time.

"So, what did you want to see?" He asked, and I shrugged. "You mean I give you the choice and you didn't pick something? Odd," He said, wrapping his arm around me as we walked towards his truck. I tried not to shudder.

It was a long car ride, full of silence aside from his music. He loved irritating me. I have a deep and profound respect for all types of music, including the musical poetry that is rap music. But I did NOT classify _Dubstep_ as music. It was more like... copying.

We finally managed to make it to the Seattle Theater, and I waited in the truck while Tom went through the rain to buy tickets. I sighed, unraveling myself. It was always so tense when I was with him. I don't know if it was just because of the fact that I simply couldn't be true to the relationship due to the imprint, or if it was that he literally made me uncomfortable. The hair rose on the back of my neck for a few seconds, and something was telling me that this was going to be a bad night. There was a knock on the passenger door, and I found Tommy smiling at me, holding an umbrella, the mist making his hair drip. I got out, letting him shelter me from the elements with the umbrella, but it was to no avail. By the time we reached the doors, I was just as wet as he was.

"So. What are we seeing?" I asked, and he grinned.

"You'll see," He answered.

To be perfectly honest, I was too nervous to even catch the title of the movie when it started. I know it was a romantic comedy. That was pretty much it on my memory aside from him that night.

When the lights darkened, he did the worst and oldest pickup on a date ever - he did the yawn and arm-stretch thing. I felt myself mentally draw inward as his arm drape around me. My mind closed off the movie, and I could swear, the adrenaline was causing me to die inside a bit. I wanted nothing more than to tell this flea-bag just what kind of problems he was always causing me. But then again, I was the one that agreed to start dating him, so I really had no one to blame but myself. About a third of the way through, he shifted, reaching out for my hand. I consented to that, but just barely. His palm was sweating, which was disgusting. What was he _doing_ over there? I chanced a glance at him, and saw that he was in deep concentration, but his eyes were on the screen. About half-way through, he leaned inward, and I thought, oh no, here it comes... But it was just to get up and go to the bathroom. On his way down the dark aisle, he turned siedeways, and I saw that he had a raging boner. Great. Fucking horndog.

When he returned, he seemed calmer, and resumed the state that he'd been sitting in. When we'd made it to the climax of the movie, which I remember now was when this guy walked in on his woman friend having sex with his brother, he leaned in, kissing my cheek. I didn't want to, but I kind of gave in with his force, not to mention that his hand around my shoulders kind of turned my head to face him. Besides, he was my ride home.

His lips grazed mine for a light second before crushing them to me. I could feel his pulse racing wildly through his lips, and I thought I was going to cry. It was NOT what I wanted. I had to stop this. But I couldn't... I just couldn't bring myself to do it. His tongue traced a small, wet line across my bottom lip before pulling it in between his teeth. He took the small opening in my mouth to his advantage, plunging his tongue into my mouth, nearly gagging me with it. God this was disgusting. I don't know how long I allowed him to kiss me, but when the credits came on, he was hard again. The lights flew up, and I found him looking - no, glaring at me with lust. His skin was flushed a deep red color, and the chills that ran down my spine and caused my hair to rise on the back of my neck seriously frightened me. Something told me that he was ready, and whether I wanted to or not, I was going to be too.

We made it back to the truck through the freezing rain, and the whole truck ride back, he had the radio turned off, one hand on the wheel, the other on his right thigh. I noticed immediately when he missed the turn to my house; it was completely purposeful, and I knew it was because he was in the far left lane, and the turn on was on the right.

"You missed the turn," I said, trying to keep my voice calm, although it broke at the end of turn. He smirked at me for a moment, turning his gaze back to the road.

"I know," He said, his voice silky and dangerous. "I've tried to wait, but enough is enough. I'm not waiting any longer to satiate your virgin ass."

"Oh yes you will!" I screamed, knowing fully well that this was only going to end badly.

"I think you'll see things my way..." He started, reaching across me into the glove compartment. "When you see this." He finished, revealing a knife. Oh God. No. Nononononononononononononononononono! Please no!

Then suddenly, it hit me to stay calm. I had to work my way through this.

"Okay," I said, and he smiled evilly. I waited until I knew that we were going to his house as he made the turn before reaching to get my phone.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snarled, glaring at me.

"Telling mom I'm going to be late because of traffic," I smirked, lying smoothly. He seemed placated, turning his attention back to the road, and my fingers flew across the keyboard of my phone.

**Collin**

I was in the middle of a song. We were practicing, and I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. No one texted me while I was practicing. No. One. I held up a finger, and the sounds of beautiful music came to a hauntingly slow stop. I reached slowly into my pocket, flipping my phone up into the air and catching it. I was a bit irritated, but whoever it was must have had a good reason. I stopped when I saw the name on the message. Brady. What the... No, he could wait.

"Who was that?" Jade asked, swinging her hair back as I made to slip the phone back into my pocket.

"Just Brady. But he can wait," I said, and there was an audible groan from everyone in the room. They knew very little about the true story between Brady and I, but they did know that he was my best friend who had come to like me a lot more than he needed to.

"Doesn't he know we're practicing? Tell him to leave you alone," Garret complained.

"Come on guys, back to pract-," I cut myself off as my phone went off again. Okay, one was unusual. Two must be bad. I pulled my phone out hesitantly, checking again. Yep. Brady. What was the matter?

_Help. Please. Tommy has a knife. He's going to rape me. Please for the love of GOD come help me :'(_

Oh no. SHIT!

"I gotta go!" I shouted, running past everyone, through the doors of the base, and slamming myself into my car. I started the engine as fast as it would let me, and took off like a bat out of hell. I flipped the phone to call, and tried calling him, but it was sent straight to voicemail. DAMMIT! I hit speed dial, and Seth answered by the third ring.

"Sup Coll-," He started.

"SETH. NOT NOW. BRADY IS IN TROUBLE!" I screamed at him.

"What? What's wrong?"

For fuck's sake!

"TOMMY HAS A KNIFE. HE'S GONNA RAPE HIM!" I shouted. I threw the phone to the seat beside me, flooring the gas pedal. I didn't care at this point whether or not I had backup. I needed to save Brady.

I found my way to Tommy's house rather quickly, considering I'd only been there once before to pick Brady up. I slammed the car to a stop, finding the little red truck in the drive. I closed the door quietly, not wanting to alert anyone, even though I was ready to scream, kick ass, and kill if necessary. I tried the front door, finding it unlocked, and I listened carefully. Living room, I thought, moving stealthily. I looked around the corner, finding Tommy standing over Brady, both of them naked, Brady cowering, and Tommy holding a knife. Well hell.

I walked up behind him slowly, and for once, I was very glad that I was a wolf. There was no way that he was even going to hear me. I reached out, twisted Tommy's arm backward, causing him to drop the knife, and let out a sharp, pained noise. I threw him backwards, and he crashed into a table with a sickening thud. He groaned, trying to make it to his feet, and I dropped into a crouch beside him. I grabbed his cheeks with one hand, forcing him to look at me.

"Come anywhere near him, and you're dead. This is a walk in the park compared to what I am capable of," I snarled, shoving him back.

I looked at Brady, who was starting from the corner of the room, attempting to cover himself. I walked over calmly, handing him his clothes, and then facing away from him for respect. When he was dressed, I spat at Tommy, pulling Brady in front of me to walk out. Just as I was pulling the door to, Seth appeared at a run, almost barreling into us.

"Whoa, I thought there was trouble!" Seth growled angrily.

"Not anymore," I said calmly, glaring at him. He caught the message. Good.

I opened the passenger door of my car for Seth and Brady to get in, Seth taking the back. I hauled as out of there, and screeching to a halt within minutes in front of Seth's house. I climbed out long enough to let Seth out, and then I was gone again. I slowed down as the Clearwater's house vanished from sight and sighed.

"What happened?" I asked, and Brady moaned, tears springing from his eyes.

"I don't know... it all happened so fast," He said, barely audible. I had to strain to hear him, and that was really saying something. When we pulled up in front of his house, Brady unbuckled and threw his arms around me, crying uncontrollably.

"Shh," I muttered awkwardly. I was supposed to be trying to forget about this little shit, but it seemed like it was going to be a lot harder than I'd thought.

"I'm sorry," I heard him stutter after a while. My shirt was soaked through with his tears, but that seemed to pale in comparison to what might have happened if I'd been a few seconds late.

"For what? There is absolutely NO reason that you should be apologizing. I'm trying to keep myself from phasing and ripping the idiot's head off!" I scowled into the night. It was quiet for a few seconds before I cut the engine. He looked at me, and i looked at him. He was too innocent for any of the mess that had come his way. Between the three of us, he had always been the best. The most moral. The best grades. The all around better friend. It made me sad to see the state that he was in.

"I'm sorry," I echoed his words.

"I know," He answered, the meaning behind my words not needing to be spoken.

"I..." I started, trailing off miserably, and he shook his head, putting a hand on mine.

"I know. It's okay," He said soothingly. This was wrong. He shouldn't be trying to comfort me; after all, I wasn't the one who had just been -almost- raped. And with that, he opened the door, climbing out faster than I'd have thought.

"Try to forget this happened," He suggested, and I could feel the pain pouring off of him. Wow. I wish there was something I could do to help, I thought as he went through his front door. The last sight of my best friend would haunt me for the coming months.


	4. Nightmares and Nothing

A/N: So, I know that the last chapter was a bit heavy. I'm going to try to keep it lighter if I can, but no promises there :P Also, I have researched and was unable to find exactly whether or not the Quileute Indians had two-spirit people, so disclaimer: I have no true knowledge of the Quileute people and I do not wish to offend anyone. Please remember that this is merely fiction. Also, I know that this is an extremely short chapter, but it's hard for me to write this kind of separation; and if you read my other work, you'll understand :P

XXX

**Brady**

I didn't want to think about anything that had happened to me. I bypassed my mom, who saw me and the worried look on her face told me that she was seeing straight through my carefully - okay, not so much - composed mask.

"Braid?" She called.

"I'm fine," I answered, but my voice broke as I started walking up the stairs. I sighed heavily, hearing her getting up. Great. I made it to the safety of my room, but not before she was at the base of the stairs making her way up them.

"Brady, what's wrong?" She asked as she made it to my room, opening the door, finding me sitting on my bed, tears streaming down my face. "Brady!" She gasped. She nearly ran to me, dropping on her knees.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She said, hugging me to her. I just sobbed, letting the emotions of the night fill my room. Finally, I was able to choke out what happened, and I heard her gasp in terror as I told her what Tommy had done.

"Thank GOD that you were able to get a hold of Collin," She said seriously, holding me back so that she could see my face. "You realize that I have to call the cops on Tommy, right?"

"Yes. Do it fast, before he bails," I said, sighing heavily. "I need to get some rest, okay?" She nodded, leaving the room.

I laid down, eyeing my ceiling. I started counting the grains that I saw, and before I knew it, I'd lost consciousness.

I woke to the sound of sirens outside of the house, and I heard my mom answering the door. I heard my dad stumbling wearily down the staircase, mumbling incoherently.

There was a knock on my door, and I sat up, realizing that I was still dressed. I looked through bleary eyes as a woman appeared in my doorway. She was in uniform, so I guessed that she was a cop.

"Hi," She said, closing the door and sitting on the foot of my bed. "I'm Chief Melissa Reins, from Seattle PD."

"H-hello," I stuttered, realizing just how cold I was feeling. "I-I'm Br-Brady."

"Hi Brady," She said smiling gently, before her face fell into a more serious look, her eyebrows coming together. "Listen to me Brady. I need you to think for a few minutes, okay?"

I nodded in agreement, and she flipped out a pad of paper and a pen.

"I need you to think about Tommy okay? I know that it's going to be hard, with what you've been going through, but he wasn't there when we got to his house. I need you to think about where he may have gone. Does he have any relatives or close friends that might be harboring him?"

My brow furrowed. It was too early in the morning for this, I thought, catching that the clock said 1:30 on it. Wow, the Seattle PD was really slow. My thoughts turned to Tommy, trying to remember everything that I could about his life... Wow, so much I didn't know about the guy I'd been dating for nearly a year.

"Um, he has a grandma in Forks. That boy from town, Mike... Newton, the Newtons, they own the outdoors outlet. Tommy and Mike are cousins on their mom's side by marriage. He could be there. Or he could be at his best friend Terry Jacks' house back in Seattle. They live three streets apart," I said, hesitating in places. My memory wasn't that good this early in the morning. Chief Melissa Reins was writing all of the information furiously, pen flying across the paper.

"Okay, Brady. Thanks for that, I think we'll be good for now. Try to get some sleep. I'll be in contact with you later, alright?" She told me. I nodded as she left the room, lying down.

I fell asleep almost immediately. I was plagued by nightmares that first night, and I would be for nights to come. Always the same one, Tommy and the knife, standing over me, me cowering in the corner. Collin appearing out of nowhere, throwing Tommy into the table and smashing it. Over and over. I would wake up shouting, sweat pouring off of me. It got to where after the first week, my mom stopped coming to check on me and comfort me. I started hanging with Seth more, attempting to get rid of the feelings. But they wouldn't stop. I couldn't make them. I didn't know what more to do.

**Collin**

When I got home that night, I was shaking very hard. All I could think about was that little piece of shit getting ready to hurt my best friend. I climbed out of the car, slamming the door shut. Why was I so mad? I hadn't been this angry since the first time I'd phased, and I sure as hell didn't want to have to worry about that again. It had been four years since I'd phased last. I had to get my anger under control.

I leaned against the car, breathing deeply, pinching the bridge of my nose. Finally, after what felt like ages, I'd managed to calm down. I made my way inside of the house, realizing after I'd already shut the door that my parents were out. There was a note on the kitchen door that I ignored, making my way to my room.

I heard sirens zoom past my house, and I knew, just knew, that they were going to talk to Brady. Of course they would have to talk to him to figure out what happened. I just hoped that he would conveniently forget to tell them that I had been involved. I threw my clothes into a pile on the floor of my room, and walked to the bathroom stark naked. I flipped the light on, catching a glance of myself in the mirror. I did a double take, and then moved in close, examining my reflection. There were deep purple shadows under my eyes, and the eyes that glanced at me were a mixture of anger and fear. I shook my head, and turned to start the water for a shower.

As I slid into the hot water, pellets jumping off my skin and raising goosebumps, my thoughts turned to Brady. What if I hadn't made it there in time? What if I'd been just a few minutes late, and something terrible had happened? No. I couldn't afford to think these things. I'd made it and that was all that mattered. I'd saved him from anything life-threatening.

Brady had always been the weakest of all of us, even as a wolf. He was just too... feminine. Even Leah was more masculine than he was. Everything about him brought on the bullying that he had had to deal with at school. Living on an Indian reservation, most of us had long hair, so that wasn't anything different. But when you were a guy and you acted as feminine as Brady, a lot of people would pick on you, and not because it wasn't unheard of, but because of the world around us. Actually, according to legend, in our tribe, we had these things called 'two-spirit' people. Essentially, gay guys and lesbian women. They were sacred to our culture, and we saw them as being beautiful gifts and reminders from the Spirit that was. We had descended from wolves, yes, but we still had other legends.

I couldn't think about anything involving Brady anymore. I just couldn't. He was my best friend, but I couldn't hurt him anymore because I wasn't able to accept his imprint. No. I had to move on.

I wasn't able to sleep that night.

When my parents got home, it was very late, somewhere around four. They were drunk, I could tell that much because of how loud they were being. My mother giggled as she made her way up the stairs and my father's heavy breath filled the silence that had previously been placating me. I slammed my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep as my parents opened my door to see if I were awake. I sighed in relief when I heard their door shut behind them, opening my eyes to the ceiling above me.


	5. Change in Time

So I know that I'd intended for this to be long and drawn out, but I just can't do that. It's physically paining me to do that. So I'm writing in a time shift.

_***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~FIVE YEARS LATER~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***_

**Brady**

Five years. It had been five years, to this date, that I'd stopped speaking to Collin altogether. I'd even gone so far as to moving out of the La Push reservation and away from Forks and gone to Seattle to get away. But still, my imprint loomed over me like a storm cloud - which if you've ever stayed for a period of more than a month in La Push or Forks, you'll get the pun.

In the five years that I'd been separated from my best friend, I'd gone to Julliard school of the arts. I'd become a trained vocalist and garnered a teacher's license. I was now the vocal teacher at the Seattle Art Institute for the Gifted. Every day, I worked with exceptionally bright and extremely talented students, all dedicated to making music a part of their living. But even with all of my success, I'd never been able to forget Collin.

He was everywhere. His face, his voice. The Weeping Angels, Collin's band, had made it big the year that I went to Julliard. They signed their first contract with an obscure label and sold about thirteen thousand albums alone. When the larger labels caught wind, they latched onto The Weeping Angels and took them on as their own, training them in the ways of stardom, to handle the glamour and the fans and the paparazzi. To handle the stress of living as a famous musician. And the publicist didn't hesitate to throw his face and his band everywhere. Even in the stores I couldn't escape. It was starting to drive me crazy.

I was hurting constantly. I got no form of reprieve. And yet, no one cared. It seemed that the world had forgotten me. I hadn't heard from Seth in about two years. He'd become The Weeping Angels' manager, and as soon as they made it to the large labels, the 'major leagues' as he'd called it once, I was 'tacked onto a schedule' for him to give me a call.

That morning was hard for me. I groaned as I surfaced into consciousness, looking around me. There were beer bottles everywhere, and my head was pounding. That must have been some night, I thought to myself as I went to the bathroom. I was surprised at how intoxicated I must have been the night before. There were evidences that I'd punched the wall a few times, and as I examined the backs of my hands, I realized that I had - and there was dried blood caked onto my right hand.

My reflection in the mirror scared me to death. I had very dark shadows under my eyes and my hair was a bird's nest. Thank God it was a Saturday. I'd be fired on the spot if I went to work like this. I splashed water on my face and was drying myself off as the phone rang. I groaned as needles sunk into my head, and when I got close enough to the phone to answer, I thought I might have passed out.

"Hello," I grunted, not even attempting to form a question with it.

"Brady?" Said a voice that surprised me. Well well.

"Seth," I answered non-enthusiastically. I was going to try and make this guy as miserable as possible. No one really knows how hard it is being the third wheel in a friendship that suddenly doesn't need you anymore. It's like being a plant. Once the plant grows up and starts to get healthy and gives off its fruit, no one remembers the seed that made the plant grow to begin with.

"Hey, long time no talk. So listen man, you busy next weekend?" He asked, and the excitement in his voice was really making me want to vomit. Or maybe that was the booze resurfacing.

"I don't know. I might have a performance to listen to, or possibly be holding a private lesson," I said, groaning. My most gifted and determined students always scheduled extra classes or invited me to performances - and I hated disappointing them.

"Well put them all on hold and find yourself a date - you're getting free tickets," Seth said. Oh no. If he thought that giving me free tickets to see The Weeping Angels was going to repair this too long hiatus that they'd gone off on, he was going to be sadly mistaken. And his next sentence confirmed that.

"Listen, I know it's been forever since we met up and talked, but let this be a reunion?"

"Fuck, I don't know," I said, trying to stop him before he could convince me.

"Brady, listen to me. The show is going to be in Seattle and the whole pack is getting tickets. You don't want to be the only one that doesn't show up, do you?"

"No, but-"

"Then it's settled. Get yourself a date to go with you. See ya," He hung up.

"FUCK!" I shouted, throwing the phone at the wall. It bounced off of it soundlessly, hitting the carpeted floor of my apartment. I headed to the kitchen and made myself a bowl of cereal before flipping on the TV.

The news caster, a woman named Marie, was talking animatedly like usual. Her high-pitched voice was actually kind of irritating to my head, but I ignored it.

"... And in more news, The Weeping Angels has confirmed the location of their newest tour kickoff will be right here in Seattle! The Seattle Art Institute for the Gifted has generously given the band the use of their Grand Stage, the largest arena in the city, where the prestigious school hosts their yearly _Magnam Ultimo de Spectaculis_ or translated to English, Grand Finale of Performances, in which each faction of the school allows each year to show off their expertise and prepared performances. The yearly event started three years ago when Julliard graduated vocalist Brady Fuller took the place of the old professor Mary Whitworth, who retired from any form of profession." What. What? WHAT? MY school was allowing the IDIOTS TO PLAY where I STARTED a TRADITION? WHAT? This was wrong. UGHHH...

**Collin**

It was a sad day for me. This marked the five year anniversary that I stopped talking to Brady, or I guess when Brady stopped talking to me. Yesterday had been a day of victory for the band when we got permission from the Seattle Art Institute for the Gifted to use their arena. The only thing that was eating at me now was the prospect that a certain person wouldn't come.

"Seth!" I shouted, nearly waking up half of the sleeping tour bus.

"Shhh! What?" He said, glaring at me from his bunk.

"I need you to make a few phone calls," I told him. I laughed as his face fell. The last time I'd asked him to make a few phone calls, it was to see if we could get the President to come to one of our shows.

"Fuck off, Collin," He said, turning around. I grabbed his shoulder and pinched hard. It must have hurt because he howled in pain and flipped around. "Alright alright! Jesus you need to calm down," He grumbled as he began to climb down from his bed.

"I haven't even raised my voice," I argued, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever. Who am I calling and what am I doing it for?"

"You're calling the pack. We're going to have a reunion at the kickoff,"

"Jesus... That's a LOT of complimentary tickets. Who's paying for it, because it's not coming out of my paycheck," He sighed, pulling out a phone.

"Don't worry, it'll be off of mine," I grinned.

I listened only partway through the round of calls. But when I heard him say Brady, I looked up.

"Brady?" Seth said, and I was suddenly feeling a bit sick.

There was a pause on the other side, and I guessed that He must have been answering.

"Hey, long time no talk. So listen man, you busy next weekend?" He asked excitedly. There he was, our best friend.

Another long pause. Jeez, what had I missed?

"Well put them all on hold and find yourself a date - you're getting free tickets," Seth said. Put WHAT on hold? "Listen, I know it's been forever since we met up and talked, but let this be a reunion?" These long pauses would be the death of me, I thought as I watched Seth's face and his flurry of emotions.

"Brady, listen to me. The show is going to be in Seattle and the whole pack is getting tickets. You don't want to be the only one that doesn't show up, do you?" There was almost no stop at that point - Seth interrupted him.

"Then it's settled. Get yourself a date to go with you. See ya," He hung up.

"God you're a cheeky shit," I said laughing hysterically.

"Just doing my job," Seth smiled. "Now, let me go back to sleep, will you?" I nodded in consent and then headed to my bunk. The night before we'd been up rehearsing our new material and we'd be making our way to Seattle this week. By the time the weekend arrived, we would be practicing before getting on stage again.

Getting on stage again... Man, I was getting too old for this. I mean, I know I'm only twenty three, but I feel ancient. The rocking hard all night, the after-parties that lasted till three in the morning, the constant travel. It's a wonder I'd been able to keep my wits about me.

The week was full of crap. About half way through the way to Seattle, we made a stop over in Phoenix Arizona. I absolutely hate the mid-southwest states. It's always too hot and so dry. We decided that we would go out that night, just to relax and get away from the damn bus.

We made our way to a bar and it wasn't long before we were being swarmed with people asking for autographs. Ah the perks of being in the limelight. At some point, I lost track of everyone. But when everything got very very quiet, I looked around to find the worst sign of my life - Ariana had slapped Jade - very, very hard.

Jade looked dazed and I went to take a step towards them before I realized what was going on. Jade had gotten drunk - again - and this time, she'd kissed a girl. But not Ariana.

"Fuck you," Ariana whispered through tears. And she ran out of the bar, with paparazzi snapping pictures left and right.

"Shit," I said, and much to my surprise, no one noticed me as I headed out the bar, searching for Ariana. I was out that entire night, scouring the city for her. When I finally made it back to the bus, it was deadly quiet. No one had any of the lights on, and Ariana was sitting outside, smoking a cigarette and cradling a bottle of beer in her hand. There were two things that Ariana never did - smoke and drink. I sat down beside her, gazing out at the horizon, the sun peaking up.

"I never wanted to become famous," She said after an eternity. "At least, not to this extent. Not to where I would lose everything. You know, we'd been fighting a lot lately. We kept things quiet, only when you guys were out did we try to confront one another. I just... I don't know, Collin. It's so hard, you know?" I looked at her and nodded. She took a long drag off of her cancer stick and then threw it to the ground.

"I'm sorry. Ariana, I never wanted anything bad to happen between you and her," I said, and she laughed bitterly.

"I know that. But the problem is, we've moved on. I think that things might have been different if we weren't in the band,"

"So what?" I asked after what seemed like forever. The neverending pain. That was how I viewed it.

"I'm leaving after the tour is over," She said finally, looking at me. I could tell she was being truthful. She hadn't even drunk all of her beer, but she was being honest.

"It will be a while, maybe two years," I reasoned.

"But I can't just up and leave with the tour happening. I'm going to get a personal driver," She grunted. "Or maybe a private jet."

"Are you sure?" I asked, and she put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're a wonderful friend Collin. But it's time that I move on. Just do me one favor,"

"What's that?" I asked concernedly.

"Just try to forget this happened," And like a bomb, I doubled over with the pain. Those were the exact words that Brady had said to me before we stopped talking. The very last words that he said to me.


	6. Songs and Problems

A/N: So I know it's taken a while, but if you're keeping up with Enduring Love as well, then you know that Finals start Friday for me. I'm incorporating some musical stuff in here and also some songs. Most of the songs will be Nightwish and Evanescence songs, along with an occasional Within Temptation song or other band. I MAY have some of my own stuff in here.

**Collin**

"Collin? Collin!" Ariana shouted, shaking my shoulder. I looked at her balefully, through watering and stinging eyes. I couldn't lose another friend. The prospect of it was going to kill me.

"I'm sorry. That was the exact same thing that Brady said before we stopped talking," I managed after what seemed like forever. I watched her face smooth over and she put a hand on my arm.

"Collin... I heard the phone call yesterday between Seth and I'm guessing Brady. Are you really sure that you want this to be where you meet again? I mean, doesn't he work at the school that we're performing at?"

"Yeah, he does. That's why I chose it. It's huge yeah, but it's because that's where he started. I was hoping to get him to come back so that we could meet on a mutual ground."

"You do realize that that's not likely to happen the way you want it to, right?" She asked, her eyes searching mine for answers. I smiled at her as best as I could and nodded. I reached forward to hug her and she complied.

"Let's go get some sleep," She said. I followed her into the dark bus, looking around. Everyone had returned but Jade, and I saw Ariana give her empty bunk a glare of daggers.

That day, as they slept and our driver made his way across the state of New Mexico and up into Nevada, I didn't sleep much. I thought constantly of the state of the band, the upcoming tour, the prospect of seeing my old best friend again. How was everything going to go? I was so worried. My dreams were comprised of nightmares. Something went wrong during the concert. My voice quit working. Pyrotechnics were misfiring. Half of the stadium collapsed. I woke up a lot of times, sweating and breathing heavily.

While the others went out that night for a few drinks, I stayed behind to sleep off the painful night.

* * *

We had finally made it to Seattle. Not a single problem had occurred, except for when Ariana made it plain that she and Jade were over. She had booked a personal jet to take her to shows from now on, and even gotten her own hotel room at the hotel that we were at.

Jade was entirely upset. She cried endlessly and I'm not sure how things would turn out. But, the day that we met to start working at the Grand Stage, it seemed like a calm had appeared to soothe things over. Jade and Ariana were no longer on speaking terms, but I spoke to them both in private and they agreed that while onstage that they wouldn't make it seem like anything was wrong. However, we dropped a song from the set list, a song called _Breathtaking_ which was written by Ariana for Jade.

As I waited for the crew to set up the equipment, I attempted some vocal warm ups, but it was very halfheartedly. I'd spend the next three nights practicing and then the fourth night actually performing. There was no way I would be stretching my chords more than they needed to be. The only thing worse than stage fright is an onstage disaster, and losing your voice was probably the biggest disaster.

I did some sirens and solfege to warmup, and for those of you that don't know what solfege is, that's Do Re Me Fa Sol La Ti Do. I drank some water and then waited for the okay from the stage managers. When they gave me the thumbs up and handed me a mic, the first thing I did was let out a high pitched wail. Time to see what this stage was made of.

I listened for a moment to let the sound people adjust my levels and the reverb. I was very glad to hear nothing in terms of the echoing, and I looked at the rest of the band, who had taken the same measures that I was. A few symbol crashes, a few chords from the keys and guitar and bass. Looked like we were ready. I nodded at them, and then cracked my neck and knuckles.

"Alright guys. Let's crank out some _Ghost Love Score_," I said. This song was from the older album, and it was a ten minute clincher. I loved it because of the song style and tempo changes, but it could be a bit irritating to the voice if you weren't careful when singing it. It also has a very long intro to it, but hey, I could work with that. Not to mention the choir that performed in the backing vocals. I looked at everyone and nodded. The song began.

_We used to swim_ t_he same moonlight waters_

_Oceans away f__rom the wakeful day_

_-My fall will be for you-_

_My fall will be for you_

_My love will be in you_

_If you be the one to cut me_

_l will bleed forever_

_Scent of the sea b__efore the waking of the world_

_Brings me to thee_

_Into the blue memory_

_-My fall will be for you-_

_My fall will be for you_

_My love will be in you_

_If you be the one to cut me_

_I will bleed forever_

_Into the blue memory_

_A siren from the deep came to me_

_He sang my name, my longing_

_Still I write my songs about that dream of mine_

_Worth everything I may ever be_

_The child will be born again_

_That siren carried him to me_

_First of them true loves_

_Singing on the shoulders_

_Of an angel without care_

_For love and loss_

_Bring me home or leave me be_

_My love in the dark heart of the night_

_I have lost the path before me_

_The one behind will lead me (x2)_

_Take me_

_Cure me_

_Kill me_

_Bring me home_

_Every way_

_Every day_

_Just another loop in the hangman's noose_

_Take me, cure me, kill me, bring me home_

_Every way, every day_

_I keep on watching up sleep_

_Relieve the old sins of Adam and Eve_

_Of you and me_

_Forgive the adoring beast_

_Redeem me into childhood_

_Show me myself without the shell_

_Like the advent of May_

_I'll be there when you say_

_Time to never hold our love_

_-My fall will be for you-_

_My fall will be for you_

_My love will be in you_

_You were the one to cut me_

_So I'll bleed forever_

As the last stanzas of the song came to a close, I looked around at the band, and grinned hugely. This was going to be our best gig ever if the way the song had gone was anything to go by.

**Brady**

I hate my life sometimes. When I got to work Monday morning, one of my most adamant newer pupils, a young boy of the age of 15 named Ashton Call came running into my office, nearly knocking over a particularly expensive musical sculpture. I rose an eyebrow at him as he gasped for air. I motioned to the chair that sat in front of my desk and collapsed into it. After a moment, he finally took a deep breath and then rose to the edge of the seat.

"I'm sorry to barge in like this Mr. Fuller," He said, and I smiled.

"Nothing to worry about, although I do wonder where is the fire?" I grinned.

"Oh sir, it's just that, my parents managed to get me a spot at a wedding this weekend and I was wondering if maybe you would like to come?" He said hopefully. Oh. I barely managed to hold in a groan. I hated disappointing my students. It was honestly the worst part of my profession.

"Ashton..." I started, and I could already see his face falling. Oh God this was going to be hard. "I'm sorry, I have plans for Saturday. When is the wedding?" I asked to clarify. Maybe I could make it if it were Sunday or Friday. His face brightened at the revelation, and I supposed that I would be listening to him at some point this weekend.

"Actually, that's perfect! The wedding is Friday night, at five, but the reception when I sing isn't until seven thirty!" He enthused.

"Alright. Where is it?" I asked, and his face fell a mile, dropping into his thinking look.

"I'm... not entirely sure... I'll get back to you on that," Ashton said, hurrying out of the office. "See you for class!" He called as the door slammed down the hall.

Wow, that kid... he was so energetic. Yeesh. I spent the next hour drinking a warm cup of tea and checking the schedule for my work today. I had four private lessons and the two huge choirs. The schedule was always split up. I had a second year first, Ashton second, the advanced choir third, the novice choir fourth, and the third and fourth year private classes were my last two.

When Cillian Stone showed up for class, I set him about his normal warm up routine and then we started working on a piece that he had chosen to perform at this years_ Magnam Ultimo de Spectaculis_, a piece called _Sweet Sacrifice_ by Evanescence. I warned him when he chose it that it was going to be difficult, but he refused to listen, as stubborn as he was.

When he was ready, like normal, we read the lyrics aloud before starting to work on it.

_It's true, we're all a little insane_

_But it's so clear_

_Now that I am unchained_

_Fear is only in our minds_

_Taking over all the time_

_Fear is only in our minds_

_But it's taking over all the time_

_You poor sweet innocent thing_

_Dry your eyes and testify_

_You know you live to break me_

_Don't deny, sweet sacrifice_

_One day, I'm gonna forget your name_

_And one sweet day_

_You're gonna drown in my lost pain_

_Fear is only in our minds_

_Taking over all the time_

_Fear is only in our minds_

_But it's taking over all the time_

_You poor sweet innocent thing_

_Dry your eyes and testify_

_And oh, you love to hate me_

_Don't you, honey? I'm your sacrifice_

_(I dream in darkness_

_I sleep to die_

_Erase the silence_

_Erase my life_

_Our burning ashes_

_Blacken the day_

_A world of nothingness_

_Blow me away)_

_Do you wonder why you hate?_

_Are you still too weak to survive your mistakes?_

_You poor sweet innocent thing_

_Dry your eyes and testify_

_You know you live to break me_

_Don't deny, sweet sacrifice_

As if the song itself wasn't hard in terms of the style that it was being sung in, the original singer was a woman. Amy Lee had some amazing pipes and a lot of the notes were hard to hit even for the most skilled singer. I knew my students like my own vocal chords and I knew what they were capable of. Cillian was going to hate himself for choosing this song after we were through working on it, but with practice I knew that he could get it.

"Okay, lets get this intro down," I said, heading to the piano and striking up the first few lines. Something was wrong automatically, and I could tell it was. Cillian was uncomfortable - this would affect his voice as well. I ceased playing as he was about to enter and he looked at me, a look of confusion on his face.

"Cillian... what's the matter? You're one of the most confidant kids I've ever taught. Why are you so clammed up?" I asked and he suddenly broke down into tears. "Whoa whoa whoa! What's wrong?"

His sobs were becoming uncontrollable at this point and I led him to the piano bench and had him sit down. I didn't know what more to do. I put my arms around him and he started crying into my shoulder. I patted his back and whispered shhh to him. After what seemed like a lifetime, he was finally out of tears and was now just gasping for air. When he was calm enough to speak, he looked at me.

"I-I'm s-so so so s-sorry Mr. F-Fuller, I shouldn't have melted down on you like that," He said, his voice quivering.

"It's okay. Tell me what's wrong. I've never seen you upset," I pointed out. He was a very young kid, probably fifteen. He had very clear blue eyes and pale skin accompanied by blond hair. Picture perfect, as Lizann Taylor, the senior director of the Visual Artistry Academy of the school would say. He blinked several times at me and then took a deep breath.

"Mr. Fuller, can I trust you?" He asked.

"Of course," I said seriously, and I meant it. Every single one of my children could trust me. He took another breath and then glanced down at the piano keys.

"I'm... I'm gay," He said quietly.

"And?" I asked without surprise. I'd known since I'd met him, but that was part of the gay thing. You were often able to tell even the most masculine of guys if they were a homosexual.

"You're not shocked?" He asked surprised. "Or angry?"

"Why would I be? It's perfectly normal," I said, smiling. "But that's not what's bothering you so much. I would know, I'm gay myself." I pushed gently.

"What?" He gasped and I laughed lightly.

"Don't tell me you didn't know it. The entire school does. But don't think you're getting yourself out of this one Cillian Stone. What's the matter?"

"My parents... well my dad... he beats me. All the time," He said and my eyes grew wide.

"Cillian, that's a huge problem... the bruises on your arm from the other day... that was him?" I asked, my voice deadly calm. I was never able to use this tone of voice or side of my personality unless I was faced with some huge problem that required it, and this was scaring me. No one should EVER beat their child. This was where I drew the line.

"Yeah..." He trailed off, glancing at the piano.

"Cillian, I have to tell someone. Dr. Pandorica-" I started, but the look he gave me cut my voice to a halt. It was a look of terror.

"No! Please, Mr. Fuller, you can't tell! You said I could trust you!" He cried.

"Listen to me Cillian, this is a serious problem," I reasoned, but he shook his head.

"Please. Please don't. I only told you because I was starting to crack from the pressure. Please don't tell anyone!" He nearly screamed at me. I watched him with large eyes, trying to diffuse the situation. How was I suppose to handle this? Did I tell Dr. Pandorica or did I just let it go under the radar? Everything in me was saying to tell the president of the school, but his face frightened me to think of what might happen if I said anything.

"Cillian. I need you to listen to me. I will not say anything to Dr. Pandorica... right now. But I need to know if the beatings continue or get any worse. Do you understand me?" I asked, the deadly calm still present in my voice.

"Y-yes..." He said.

"Good," I answered, getting up from the piano bench.

"Wh-where are you going?" He asked.

"I need to cancel classes for the day," I answered without stopping. I turned around to look at him from the door of my room and smiled reassuringly at him. "I'll be right back. Don't move."


	7. Meanings

**A/N: Alright everyone, sorry to keep you waiting. Anyway, the next installment of Chasing a Dream follows :)**

* * *

**Collin**

Sometimes I wonder why I took this route, and then I remember how good it feels to do what I love for a living. The only problem is all of the drama.

During day two of practice on the stage, Ariana messed up something during one of the songs, and she and Jade got into it. It took all three of us, John, Garret, and myself, to pull them apart. I hadn't seen either of them in nearly a day, and we still had practice to go through today.

I was laying on my bed in the hotel and someone knocked on the door. I stood up to let them in, and opened it to John and Garret.

"Bitches got stitches," John chuckled as he pushed his way inside, followed by Garret.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Ariana and Jade. They must have gotten into a really bad fight. They both went to the hospital and had to get stitches," Garret informed me. Well that was just great.

"How the hell did that happen?" I demanded. "Will they be okay to play tomorrow?"

"Something about a bar fight; yeah they'll be fine. It was like, their arms or something. I don't know, I just got a call from Ariana," John told me.

"I love being left out of the loop," I muttered.

"Well if you ever went out instead of sulking in your rooms all the time, you'd know these things," Garret smirked.

"Oh shut up," I grimaced, laying on the bed.

"There you go again," John groaned, and I flipped him off, but they both just laughed.

"Where the hell are they then? " I asked, lifting my face up from the pillow.

"On their way. Ariana wanted to know if you could cancel practice." Garret asked in their stead.

"We start touring as soon as this show is over, we haven't played the new material live yet, and you guys want to cancel practice? " I asked sitting up.

"Well, we've been practicing already," John started, but my glare silenced him.

"We only have one day of practice down, the other was ruing by their fight. I wanted to do a full run through today so that we get the feel of how it's going to go," I told them. "So no, we're not canceling."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Bossy," John muttered, tapping away on his phone. I made a mental note to talk to the girls personally and privately as he sent the message.

A moment later my phone buzzed, and I moaned inwardly as I reached for it.

"Hello?" I asked, and found myself speaking to Seth.

"Get your asses down here before the stage managers shut down the stage for the day," He hissed and hung up.

"Here we go guys," I muttered, stretching. The walk to the elevator was actually kind of silent. We'd been having to monitor our movements since arriving - with the publicity so huge, we'd been assaulted every day and every hour by fans. I enjoyed the attention but it got very irksome at times.

When we got to the stage, I found Ariana and Jade already at the drum kit and keys. I raised an eyebrow at them, and they both shrugged. Ariana grinned as she showed me her bicep, which had a nasty looking scar running down the side, and Jade had an identical strip on her forearm.

"You're both insane," I joked, and they laughed. The air didn't feel as tense as it had been, but I made a note to not bring it up right then. We needed to focus.

"Okay, warm up then," I said, deciding that today I would let loose. Full-power. I did my usual warmup routine and then turned to the others. "Full run guys. From the beginning."

We made our way off stage and let the crew do their thing with the lighting and pyrotechnics. We waited for our intro song, a theme that Jade and Ariana had made up, and then made our way to the stage to start. I held back while the first bars of _Dark Chest of Wonders _played and then made my way onto the front.

_Once I had a dream_

_And this is it!_

_Once there was a child's dream_

_One night the clock stroke twelve_

_The window open wide_

_Once there was a child's heart_

_The age I learned to fly_

_And took a step outside_

_Once I knew all the tales_

_It's time to turn back time_

_Follow the pale moonlight_

_Once I wished for this night_

_Faith brought me here_

_It's time to cut the rope and fly_

_Fly to a dream_

_Far across the sea_

_All the burdens gone_

_Open the chest once more_

_Dark chest of wonders_

_Seen through the eyes_

_Of the one with pure heart_

_Once so long ago_

_The one in the Big Blue is what the world stole from me_

_This night will bring him back to me_

As the song faded and we struck up the next one, I found myself surprised to be hearing _Breathtaking_. I'd thought we'd cut it! I looked around, but they just nodded as the song continued, and I took a deep breath before singing.

_Love is the reason that we find ourselves so high_

_It's no crime - to love so heavily_

_And now i just wanted you to know_

_Like a sigh, like a dream, you're breathtaking_

_I can't quite breathe - yeah you've captured me_

_Fresh snow, living green, summer dale, and autumn leaves_

_Can't compare to the girl in front of me - you're breathtaking_

_Now I know I might come off sounding strange_

_But you're always on my mind - night and day_

_Your kiss is intoxicating, sweeter than novacaine_

_And now i just want you to know_

_You're my sigh, you're my dream - yeah you're breathtaking_

_I cannot see - you're so lovely_

_Nothing but a mist would fill my days_

_Without you here with me_

I faded out as the guitar solo took place, and I felt tears in my eyes for the first time in what felt like ages. I turned around to see Ariana and Jade, both with tears streaming down their faces and their eyes shut as they played their song.

_Beauty - Hey I'm the beast_

_Can't stop me from feeling_

_That we are meant to be_

_Time and space can't keep me from you darling_

_You're my sigh, you're my dream - yeah you're breathtaking_

_You're all I think of, believe me_

_And if the day comes when you no longer love me_

_I just want you to be happy_

_Like a sight, like a dream - yeah you're breathtaking_

_I cannot see - you're breathtaking_

_This can't be a dream , who could not see_

_Nothing's stopping this love from living - you're breathtaking_

As the song faded to an end, I turned the mic off, and looked around at my band members. Most of them were crying except for Garret, but he never cries, and John was barely holding on.

"Guys... day off. Spend the last bit relaxing. We'll rock Seattle tomorrow," I decided. I was the last to leave the stage, the words of the song echoing in my head. I couldn't help but feel that this song had meaning for me as well. As my thoughts of tomorrow clouded my head, Brady's name shouted it's way to the top of my mind. _Breathtaking_ was more than just for Ariana and Jade, I realized. The song was an anthem of declaring undying love. This was how Brady felt about me. Inside, I felt my heart breaking.

**Brady**

I hurried to cancel the rest of my classes, barely uttering anything when Amelia, the secretary asked why. I made my way back to my room and found Cillian sitting there, looking uncomfortable.

"Okay. Come on. We're taking a field trip," I said, holding the door for him. He looked at me confused for a moment, but then shrugged and came to join me. As we started walking, we fell into a kind of comfortable silence. I looked at Cillian, but he wasn't looking at me. In fact, he was preoccupied with thoughts. Probably about how the hell he was going to get out of trouble or how to get me to not worry about him.

When I reached where I'd intended to go, he looked around, confused. We were at this huge water fountain, glittering with money from where people had made wishes and flipped their coins into it.

"Why are we here?" He asked.

"This is called the Forever Fountain. People have been coming here for a very long time, making their wishes and telling their secrets to coins, and dropping them off into forever. It's a great place to relax and let off some steam. It's also good for letting go," I said, sitting down on one of the benches beside the fountain.

"So, what does this have to do with singing?" Cillian asked curiously as he sat beside me, and I eyed him before closing both and leaning my head back on the railing of the bench.

"Listen, Cillian. Close your eyes, think about nothing. Just listen,"

The sound of the fountain's cascading water was predominate, but if you were musically inclined, you could make music out of anything - including this fountain.

"I feel funny," He said after what seemed like a lifetime.

"Cillian, life isn't about who we are. It's not about what we do or how we do it. It's about love. True, strong, unconditional love. Some accomplish this through art, others through music. There are some who achieve it through family, and others through loving someone. It isn't about what kind of love, but rather how we love. It's what we do with that love that makes the difference,"

He was silent then. I watched as he stood up and pulled out a penny from his pocket - a bright, shining new penny. He folded it in his hands and brought them close to his mouth. He whispered something into his hands before tossing the small copper coin into the fountain. When he returned to my side, I could tell he wasn't as tense.

"Better?" I asked, and he nodded, smiling.

"Mr. Fuller," He started, and as I looked at him, he seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Thank you. For everything. You're a great teacher."

"Oh, well, I..." I started flustering, and blushed wildly.

"No seriously, you really are. Not many people have a level of understanding like this, let alone how to apply good advice to a situation like this,"

"I appreciate it, Cillian," I smiled before standing up. "Well, it's getting late," I said, looking at my watch. In actuality, I was supposed to be starting my next class, but I remembered I'd taken the rest of the day off.

"Yeah. See you later, Mr. Fuller," He said as we parted ways. "Oh, Mr. Fuller?" He asked. I turned to him, and he smiled lightly. "Are you going to the Weeping Angels concert Friday?"

I smiled wryly, and nodded. He seemed satisfied and then departed. I looked at the fountain, it's water glistening in the sunlight. I'd left so many wishes in it. So many.

XXX

**A/N: The first song mentioned here is called Dark Chest of Wonders by Nightwish. The second, Breathtaking, is one of my own personal songs. Hope you all enjoyed! Reviews inspire faster writing :)**


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